The Butcher (Lore)

"Ah...Fresh meat!"

- The Butcher^(src)

The Butcher
Title	Flesh Carver
Gender	Male
Race	Demon
Affiliation	Burning Hells Coven
Class	Overlord/Butcher Demon
Occupation	Servant of Diablo (formerly) Servant of Andariel (formerly) Servant of Maghda (formerly)
Status	Active
Appearances	Diablo Diablo Immortal Diablo III Diablo IV Dungeons and Dragons: Diablo II Edition The Awakening Deckard Cain's Journal Writings of Abd al-Hazir (mentioned only) Book of Cain Diablo Bestiary: Book of Adria

The Butcher is an infamous demon that has repeatedly plagued Sanctuary.

A bloated and grotesque creature, The Butcher is a sadistic being that relishes in the torture and pain of others. It is also masochistic, and its own hands are damaged as the result of its torture. It huntes endlessly for fresh meat, apparently preferring it raw.

Both Kharazim and Valla noted the creature's strength, the latter commenting that the Butcher "was one of the most powerful creatures I have ever faced."

Biography

Origins

"Accounts from Vizjerei mages tell of the Butcher, a creature constructed from the different parts of other demons. An arm from there. An eye from there. This was done for reasons beyond sadism. The Butcher gained the strength and power of the different demons that were a part of it. This makes the patchwork creatures extremely powerful, but also extremely bloodthirsty."

- Adria^(src)

This Butcher Demon was crafted in the same manner as its kin—put together from the body parts of various demons. This Butcher appeared to be particuarly infamous however, coming to the attention of the Vizjerei Clan. Rumors of the creature persisted throughout the years, and Adria heard rumors of demonologists trying to duplicate the creature.

The Darkening of Tristram

"Big! Big cleaver killing all my friends. Couldn't stop him, had to run away, couldn't save them. Trapped in a room with so many bodies... So many friends... Noooooooooo!"

- Farnham, reliving his ordeal with The Butcher^(src)

The Butcher within the labyrinth

While the Butcher Demons were once servants of Diablo, this particular Butcher was a servant of Andariel by the Darkening of Tristram, though at the least, acted in a manner that served the Lord of Terror's ends. The creature first made itself known to the people of Tristram when Lazarus led them into the depths of the Cathedral as part of a trap. A horde of demons set upon the townsfolk, the Butcher among them. Wielding a cleaver as large as an axe, the creature cut down any who stood against it. Some townsfolk made it back to the surface, but the wounds that the Butcher inflicted left them festering with disease, that even the town's healer found almost impossible to treat. The slaughter the Butcher carried out strengthened Diablo further, allowing the Lord of Terror to summon more demons to terrorize the countryside surrounding Tristram.

The Butcher made his lair in a chamber in the lower levels of the Cathedral. Prior to the return of Prince Aidan, at least one group of adventurers stumbled across the beast. They had entered the cathedral for loot, but found themselves beset by Imps, before finally The Butcher himself descended on them. All but one of them were killed, as the only survivor left his friends to die. However, The Butcher managed to inflict a wound on his arm that nearly took it off, leaving Tristram's healer with no choice but to remove the limb.

The Butcher encountered

The Butcher met his end at the hands of Aidan, as well as two companions. As they approached his chamber, they heard the screams of his victims, and blood pouring out from the door. Opening it, they beheld The Butcher, who grinned at the promise of fresh meat before setting on them with his cleaver. However, they were able to dispatch the beast.

After its death, an Overlord demon called The Slayer sought to take The Butcher's place. It sent out Fallen Ones to find the Butcher's cleaver. However, the Slayer was itself slain before it could find the cleaver.

Dark Rebirth

About eight years later, the Butcher was resurrected within the Tristram Cathedral.

Butcher's Return

"Leah must be back in Tristram, crying over the old man's corpse. She'll soon have another one to cry over—yours. Meet...the Butcher!"

- Maghda^(src)

The Butcher, resurrected by Magda

Twenty years later, the Butcher was resurrected in service to the Coven. The demon was encountered by the Nephalem deep in the Halls of Agony, beneath Leoric's Manor. In a bid to stop them, Maghda released the creature However, The Nephalem was able to defeat the demon and continue their search for the Stranger.

The Great Enmity

The Butcher roamed Sanctuary during the Great Enmity.

In-game

Diablo I

Main article: The Butcher (Diablo I)

The Butcher is an optional boss in Diablo I.

Diablo Immortal

Main article: The Butcher (Diablo Immortal)

The Butcher is a boss in Diablo Immortal. It should be noted however that two different Butchers (or rather, Butcher Demons) appear over the course of Immortal. The one fought in the Realm of Damnation is not the same Butcher that made its debut in Diablo I. The original Butcher however, does appear in the Dark Rebirth questline.

Diablo III

Main article: The Butcher (Diablo III)

The Butcher is the boss of Act I in Diablo III. It is the resurrected form of the Butcher from the first game.

Diablo IV

Main article: The Butcher (Diablo IV)

A Butcher appears in Diablo IV as a random dungeon encounter. It is apparently the same Butcher encountered in Diablo I and III.

Heroes of the Storm

For more information, see the respective article on Heroes of the Storm Wikia

The Butcher as depicted in HotS

The Butcher is available as a melee assassin hero in Heroes of the Storm. His gameplay revolves around his trait, called Fresh Meat, where defeated enemies drop meat on the ground, which when collected increases his Basic Attack damage; if the Butcher is killed, he loses meat. This creates a high risk high reward style; however, if the player acquires enough meat, The Butcher won't lose meat on defeat anymore, in addition to gaining additional damage.

He can also perform a running charge at his opponents, called Ruthless Charge, where he becomes unstoppable. He is able to heal himself by putting his Butcher's Brand on a target and attacking them. One of his Heroic Abilities, Furnace Blast, references the fire grates that appear during his fight in Diablo III.

According to the developers, from a character fantasy aspect, The Butcher's gameplay of growing powerful and more dangerous over the course of the match, is meant to evoke a feeling of fear to reference his original appearance in Diablo.

Overwatch

A Butcher skin is available for Roadhog in Overwatch. One of his skin specific voice lines is "Fresh Meat!"

Trivia

This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.

The Butcher

• The nature of the Butcher has changed over time. In Diablo I, it is implied to be a unique demon, and an Overlord. In Diablo III, it is revealed to be one of a number of Butcher Demons (separate from Overlord demons). In Book of Adria: A Diablo Bestiary, it is mostly treated as being unique, though a plural term is used in its entry, allowing for the possibility of other Butcher Demons.

• A Butcher statue exists in the offices of Blizzard Entertainment.

• In The Sanctuary Tarot Deck and Guidebook The Butcher represents Knight of Pentacles card.

In Other Games

• In the Warcraft universe, abomination creatures are clearly inspired by The Butcher (yelling "Fresh meat!" on attack, and using meat cleavers and meat hooks as weapons). In World of Warcraft, The Butcher is a boss bearing resemblance to the Diablo III Butcher. One may also obtain his bone apron in that game.

• Pudge the Butcher, a character from Defense of the Ancients, draws heavy inspiration from The Butcher and Warcraft Abominations. His ultimate, Dismember, makes him call out "Ahh... Fresh Meat!" when used, which can be heard anywhere on the map. He also uses a large cleaver as his main weapon.

• In Borderlands and Borderlands 2 games there are rare shotguns named as Butcher with the flavor description "Ahh... Fresh Meat!" ("Fresh Meat!" in the sequel version).

• In the RPG game Fallout 2 there is a slaver's guild, when you first enter you are greeted with the words "Ah, fresh meat....". The guild's leader is called Metzger, which is German for Butcher.

• The 2011 game Dead Island references The Butcher's famous greeting; one of the Achievements is called "Ah! Spoiled meat!" It involves killing a special zombie also called a "Butcher" using an axe.